Am I overthinking or am I really cooked?
I graduated in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in something other than nursing and a 2.9 GPA. Most of the science courses I took during that time were Cs. Since then, I’ve retaken all of those courses and earned mostly As, with 1–2 Bs. The frustrating part is that my cumulative science GPA is still only 2.8. However, when I calculate my prerequisite GPA and account for my retakes, it comes out to a 3.73. My cumulative GPA is a 3.12 across about 300 credits.
My last 60 credits are a 3.91, and I completed my RN-BSN with a 4.0. I also took several graduate-level physiology courses and completed the certificate with a ~3.4 GPA.
For the rest of my application, I have about 40 hours of shadowing and 1,000+ hours of community service through things like community gardening and mentoring. I also attended Diversity CRNA and have my letters of recommendation secured. I’m planning to take the GRE and have been scoring in the 310s on practice exams. I also plan to take the CCRN and CMC next month.
I’ve also put together a list of schools that specifically mention having a holistic admissions process or that consider the last 60 credits. I’ve emailed program directors at some of these schools as well, but unfortunately haven’t received any responses.
I feel like I have a lot of strengths in my application and that my academic trajectory shows significant improvement, but I’m worried that my science GPA will hold me back.
Part of me feels like the only option is to pursue an MSN to strengthen my academic record at this point, but I’m not sure if that’s actually necessary or the best use of my time and money.
I’d really appreciate any advice on how competitive my application might be and what you think my best next step would be.